Paris 2026: Latest European Aquatics Championships set new benchmark for success on all fronts
Paris 2026 was a major success for European Aquatics and a new benchmark for the organisation of our flagship Championships, which involved 1,268 athletes – including, for the first time, para swimmers – and 615 volunteers. Diving, artistic swimming and swimming took place in the Paris 2024 legacy venue of the Olympic Aquatic Centre, while open water swimming and high diving took place at the River Seine. There was strong home support in both venues, which offered high-quality sports presentation resulting in significant spectator experiences. Organisers reported more than 100,000 tickets sold, with the Olympic Aquatic Centre being sold out for evening sessions and close to sold out for morning sessions. International media coverage was substantial and extended beyond specialist aquatics media. Reuters covered major sporting stories and world records; Associated Press and The Times focused on high diving in the Seine and the transformation of Paris’s river into a sporting environment, following through with swimming coverage. L’Équipe provided extensive coverage across the disciplines; and Eurovision Sport provided live and on-demand distribution, including a dedicated UK partnership with Aquatics GB. Home athletes rose to expectations, especially in the swimming, where France finished sixth in the medal table with six golds in a total of 14. The fact that two of those golds were secured by the French sporting icon Leon Marchand, four-times Paris 2024 gold medallist, guaranteed the Championships made headline news around the world. Marchand was able to compete despite having to reduce his schedule as he carried a lingering hip adductor injury into competition. But the 24-year-old Texas-bases swimmer went above and beyond by helping the hosts earn silver and bronze in the men’s 4x200m freestyle and men’s 4x100m medley respectively. Two 19-year-olds also accrued worldwide exposure with world record performances. Germany’s Johannes Liebmann, who won the men’s 800m freestyle in a European record of 7:37.59, completed the double by taking almost four seconds off the men’s 1500m freestyle world record in 13:26.79. And Sara Curtis of Italy posted successive world records in winning her first European title in the 50m backstroke, clocking 26.62 in the semi-final and 36.56 in the final. A total of 33 records were set during the swimming competition, and one was equalled. Men’s and women’s para swimming in the 50m and 100m freestyle was incorporated in the main programme over the closing weekend – a landmark inclusion – and the performances received widespread appreciation and support. Continuing the ongoing work of the European Aquatics Academy, expert-led coaching clinics were held during the Championships for swimming, artistic swimming, diving, high diving and open water swimming. Paris 2026 featured a well attended and highly successful two-day European Aquatics Swim Safe Conference involving experts, partners and leading administrators which stressed the vital challenge of ensuring more children were taught to swim and to understand wider water safety. There were also a series of searching analyses on the challenges of gaining funding for safety projects, as well as a number of contributions highlighting the smart technology breakthroughs involving swimming pool regeneration and AI safety features. The European Aquatics Championships Paris 2026 event also incorporated a tangible legacy programme, including swimming opportunities for children and permanent learn-to-swim capacity at the Olympic Aquatics Centre. The breadth and quality of legacy and inclusion initiatives at Paris 2026 were marked on the concluding day of the Championships by the award of a State Equality (Terrain d’Egalite) label testifying to its certification by the French national standards organisation Association Francaise de Normalisation (AFNOR). The award was conferred on the French Swimming Federation (FFN) by Marina Ferrari, Minister of Sports, Youth and Community Life. A social ticketing system was established enabling the distribution of about 6,000 tickets to audiences from disadvantaged backgrounds. An accessibility policy was developed for disabled people focusing in particular on the inclusion of para-swimming events, digital accessibility, and the conditions for welcoming event spectators. The fight against discrimination with specific work around combating LGBTphobia in collaboration with the FIER Foundation. A WeCare Team of over 100 volunteers out of the 600 at the event was specially trained to welcome people with disabilities. Mike Rowbottom for European Aquatics
Paris 2026: Italy crowned best team as Germany sign off open water programme with mixed relay gold
The four-day open water swimming programme at the European Aquatics Championships Paris 2026 came to a close on the River Seine on Saturday, with Italy claiming the overall team trophy for the most successful nation across the Championships, while Germany brought the curtain down on the individual and relay action by winning the 4x1500m mixed team relay. Having racked up medals across the 10km, 5km and 3km knockout sprint events over the previous three days, Italy’s tally of golds, silvers and bronzes from a host of different swimmers was enough to see them be named the best team of the week, thanks to a strength in depth of a squad that produced podium finishes in almost every race on offer in Paris. It capped a superb week for the Italians, even as they were pipped to the final gold medal of the Championships by perhaps their closest rivals. That last event, the mixed 4x1500m team relay, brought the open water programme to a close in fitting fashion, with Germany, Italy and Hungary locked together for the majority of the race before the reigning world champions held on to win by the narrowest of margins. Julia Ackermann got Germany’s campaign underway before handing over to Isabel Gose, who had claimed the 3km knockout sprint title 24 hours earlier, to then hand the responsibility to Oliver Klemet who moved the team into the lead on the third leg. It was left to Florian Wellbrock, already the owner of two individual gold medals from the week, to bring it home, and he did so in style, touching in a time of 1:03:39.2 to seal the win. Italy pushed the Germans all the way. Barbara Pozzobon and Ginevra Taddeucci, the latter then a three-time medallist across the week, kept Italy in touch through the opening two legs, with Taddeucci actually leading at the halfway stage. Marcello Guidi slipped to third on the penultimate leg before seven-time European open water swimming champion Gregorio Paltrinieri produced a strong anchor swim, but it was not quite enough to reel in Wellbrock and Italy had to settle for silver, just 2.0 seconds adrift. Hungary completed the podium in 1:03:42.4, with Bettina Fabian, Viktoria Mihalyvari-Farkas, Kristof Rasovszky and David Betlehem – the latter two both individual medallists earlier in the week – finishing 3.1 seconds off the winning time, with France in fourth. For Germany, the relay victory rounded off a dominant week in the water, topping the medal table courtesy of Wellbrock’s brace of individual titles and Gose’s own knockout sprint success. “Yes, of course. It was a great performance by the German team to get top of the medal table,” said Wellbrock. “For me personally, three golds and the final event, we took the gold again. As a defending world champion, we are the European champion now. And yeah, I’m really proud of my team.” Klemet, who swam the third leg to put Germany into the lead, praised the strength in depth that has underpinned the team’s success throughout the week, including a debutant Ackermann on the anchor of the women’s legs. “I think we always have a really good team and we always want to win the race,” he said. “And even if you get some new members, with Julia, they are always ready to step up. She did a really good race. It was her first race at senior level. And I think that’s what relays are there for, to step up their game. And that’s why we won.” Kristof Rasovszky and David Betlehem, who helped close out Hungary for the bronze medal, were candid in their assessments of the race. “Everyone focused on his or her own task, the girls managed to make the a large enough gap to secure the medal by the halfway mark. From that point our task was to go for the best possible position, now we ended up third,” said Rasovszky. “We came first a couple of times, second a couple of times, but what really matters that this relay has always made the podium at the majors since 2021, we had nine medals from as many worlds and Europeans which shows the strength of our team.” “I’m sorry that I could only finish third among the top three this time,” Betlehem said. “I doubled down and wanted to go for the gold, to catch up Flo (Wellbrock), but after yesterday’s knockout race I ran out of gas completely during the last leg, this cost us the silver. Still, we have a medal, as usual, and I’m proud of the team.” While Germany’s victory in the relay brought a successful individual programme to a close in style, it was Italy who left Paris with the overall bragging rights. Germany topped the final open water swimming medal table. Their four golds, courtesy of Wellbrock’s individual two-piece and the mixed relay triumph, were enough to see them finish top of the standings with a solitary bronze rounding out their tally of five medals overall. Italy and Hungary finished level on seven medals apiece, with Italy’s two golds, one silver and four bronzes putting them ahead of Hungary’s one gold, five silvers and one bronze on the head-to-head gold count, leaving the two nations close together at the top of the total medals standings. France completed the table with a single silver and bronze from the week’s action. In total, 21 medals were awarded across the seven open water events in Paris. The attention of the senior open water community now turns to Alghero, Sardinia, where the 2027 edition of the European Aquatics Open Water Swimming Championships will be held at the end of May. Click here for the event page, which includes all start lists and results. Click here to watch all of the action on Eurovision Sport. Stephen Stanley for European Aquatics
European Aquatics statement: Open water swimming training session Paris 2026
European Aquatics has just been informed that, despite recent water quality tests confirming that the River Seine meets the required standards for competition, a small amount of oil/fuel has been visually identified near the competition area. The relevant authorities are currently carrying out clean-up operations and, as a precautionary measure, today’s scheduled open water swimming training session has been cancelled. European Aquatics will conduct a further water quality test before the next competition to ensure that all conditions continue to meet the required standards. The health, safety and welfare of athletes will always remain the highest priority in the organisation of European Aquatics competitions.
Paris 2026: Wellbrock and Taddeucci complete the double with 5km open water swimming gold
Florian Wellbrock and Ginevra Taddeucci followed up their 10km victories with further gold in the 5km events on day two of open water competition at the European Aquatics Championships Paris 2026, though both had to work hard for it, with Wellbrock seeing off a resurgent David Betlehem, while Taddeucci had to come from behind after a fast-starting Barbara Pozzobon set the early pace. Men’s 5km On what was a cooler morning than the previous, 34 athletes eventually made it to the pontoon for the men’s 5km race, which consisted of four 1.25km laps. Wellbrock started the shorter distance in a similar vein to the day before, sitting second early on before briefly dropping to third, 4.2 seconds down. But by the second checkpoint the German was untouchable, hitting the front and leading outright the rest of the way, and he never really relinquished his hold of the race, despite charges at certain points from a number of athletes. Behind him, the race for the minor medals swung wildly in the opening third. Kristof Rasovszky burst into the lead early on, the Hungarian’s only spell at the front all race, while Gregorio Paltrinieri produced the move of the morning, rocketing from 11th at the first checkpoint up to second by the next, thanks to some intricate moves through the bunched up pack as they came off the pontoon. David Betlehem’s race followed a similar zig-zag pattern to his silver-medal swim in the 10km one day earlier, with him dropping to seventh early on before recovering into the podium places, only to slip back to sixth, 10 seconds down. From there he found his rhythm, working back into the podium places and anchoring well before moving into second with just over a kilometre to go, a position he would not concede. Sacha Velly’s fightback was the story of the second half. Having been nearly 21 seconds behind the leaders early on, the Frenchman produced a remarkable recovery, leaping into the top ten and continuing to close throughout the middle of the race, briefly rising as high as second. He couldn’t quite sustain it over the closing stages, settling for fourth at the finish, 11.2 seconds down, but it was nonetheless a standout swim through the pack. Italy’s Paltrinieri, after his first-kilometre escapade, settled into the podium picture by halfway and held on to take bronze, 4.5 seconds off Wellbrock’s winning time. At the front, Wellbrock’s advantage held firm to the finish. He touched in 55:40.2 to add the 5km title to his 10km crown, with Betlehem taking a second successive silver medal behind him in 55:42.6, 2.3 seconds back, and Paltrinieri completing the podium in 55:44.7. The result is the German’s first ever 5km European title – complementing the three he has already secured at World Championship level. “Yeah, it’s unbelievable,” Wellbrock said when speaking to European Aquatics following his victory. “So I had a good recovery obviously from yesterday, from the 10K, and I’m a bit speechless to be honest. “It’s so nice to share the podium and the stage with David and Greg, we have a really good relationship. We’re sharing the stage for a really long time, and to have a close battle at the end of the race, it’s always so much fun.” Betlehem was reflective of his achievements. “I felt I was somewhat weaker after the 10km, though I guess it was bit of the same for Flo (Wellbrock). It was another outstanding race, I really tried everything to take over Flo, tried from the right, from the left, above, below but didn’t succeed, he was simply too good once more. Women’s 5km The women’s race began a few hours later, with both the temperature and atmosphere heating up as the 26 athletes lined up. It was Barbara Pozzobon of Italy who set the early tone, leading outright from the very first buoy through to halfway, and the only woman in the field to hold the lead throughout the opening stages. Her compatriot Taddeucci had to work her way into contention, sitting second early on before slipping as low as fourth around halfway, multiple body lengths off the pace and further back than at any other point in the race. Hungary’s Viktoria Mihalyvari-Farkas, fresh off her runner-up finish in the 10km, spent the early stages working through the field herself, moving up into second before briefly wrestling the outright lead away from Pozzobon approaching halfway – her only spell at the front of the race. The decisive moment came with just over a kilometre to go. Taddeucci, who had steadily clawed her way back into the podium places by that point, surged past both her rivals to take the lead for the first time. She never looked back, leading outright the rest of the way and holding on to the finish to complete the distance-double, touching in 1:02:31.2. Behind her, Mihalyvari-Farkas, who had worked her way into second by the finish, took silver in 1:02:33.4, 2.1 seconds adrift. Pozzobon’s brave effort ultimately came up just short; having led for the majority of the first half, she was passed in the closing stages and had to settle for bronze in 1:02:35.1, just 3.9 seconds off gold at the end of a race that stayed remarkably tight from start to finish. The gold medal is Taddeucci’s second 5km title in as many years, while Mihalyvari-Farkas also doubled up her silver in the event from 2025. Pozzobon took her first medal at a European Championships since 2024, and her first ever medal over the 5km distance. “I’m very happy. Today was a very hard race, but I’m happy and the location is beautiful,” said Taddeucci. “I’m very happy for Barbara. She’s my friend, and the 1st and the 3rd position is fantastic. “My swim wasn’t great today, but I am just looking forward to the final races.” Mihalyvari-Farkas seemed very content with yet another medal. “I’m really happy and I’m really glad to race in Paris and I’m really
Paris 2026: Men’s open water swimming preview
In what is anticipated to be one of the closest fields in recent memory, 44 of the continent’s best male open water swimmers are preparing to take to the River Seine from 4-8 August to decide the European champions for 2026. Florian Wellbrock arrives on the Seine as the man to beat. Germany’s world champion swept every men’s open water title on offer at last July’s World Championships in Singapore – the 10km, 5km, 3km knockout sprint and mixed relay – getting the better of a stacked field to reclaim the 10km crown he first won back in 2019. He goes again this time around in all four of those events. Also returning is Italian distance swimming legend Gregorio Paltrinieri. Long the dominant force on the European open water circuit, he is entered across the 3km knockout, 5km and 10km, and brings Italian teammates Marcello Guidi, Andrea Filadelli and Domenico Acerenza with him as they chase accolades of their own. Hungary, however, head into the Championships as the form nation. Kristof Rasovszky claimed both the 10km and the new three-stage knockout sprint at last year’s Europeans in Stari Grad, adding to a medal collection that already includes Olympic and world 10km gold. He will go with training partner David Betlehem, who took knockout bronze in Croatia and has been a fixture on the podium across distances throughout 2025, plus a third Hungarian in Hunor Kovacs Seres, who joins them in the 5km, 10km and knockout sprint. France also arrive with momentum. Logan Fontaine and Marc-Antoine Olivier finished second and third behind Rasovszky in last year’s 10km final, and will likely be hungry to make it one better. Fontaine’s progress through 2025 marks him out as one of the swimmers most likely to trouble the established order in the French capital. The 5km looks set to be just as tightly fought. Paltrinieri defends the European title he won in Croatia, where he put in a spirited performance to get the better of Betlehem and Rasovszky, and the same trio – alongside Wellbrock and Olivier – should be scrapping for the medals again over the middle distance. Racing from 1.5k to 500m over three segments, the knockout sprint produced one of the closest finishes of last year’s Championships, Rasovszky edging out Fontaine and Betlehem. Germany’s Oliver Klemet, Olympic bronze medallist over 10km at Paris 2024, enters all three individual distances and will be looking to turn that pedigree into a European medal. The mixed relay rounds out the programme, and Hungary go in as champions after Viktoria Mihalyvari-Farkas, Bettina Fabian, Betlehem and Rasovszky edged Italy and France by just two seconds in Stari Grad. Betlehem and Rasovszky return to anchor the Hungarian effort, with Italy’s Paltrinieri and Guidi, and France’s Fontaine and Olivier, again expected in the mix. Also worth watching: Great Britain’s Hector Pardoe, a two-time world 10km medallist, makes his return to the European stage, while Neutral Athlete B swimmers Vladimir Ivanov and Aleksandr Stepanov are entered across several distances. Poland’s European Aquatics Open Water Swimming Cup leg winner Bartosz Kapala also goes in all three individual events. Open water swimming at the European Aquatics Championships Paris 2026 will take place in the River Seine from August 4 to 8, with the men’s 10km on day one, the 5km on day two, the 3km knockout sprint on day four and the mixed 4x1500m relay closing the programme on day five, with day three held as a contingency. Click here for the event page, which includes all start lists and results. Click here to watch all of the action on Eurovision Sport. Stephen Stanley for European Aquatics
Paris 2026: Women’s open water swimming preview
A total of 46 women will take to the River Seine for four days of open water swimming action at the European Aquatics Championships 2026, with four gold medals up fro grabs across as many days. In what looks to be one of the most open fields in recent years, there are medal shouts from arguably close to a dozen athletes in with a chance of winning a medal. At last year’s European Open Water Swimming Championships in Stari Grad, Croatia, Viktória Mihalyvari-Farkas produced one of the stories of the meet, winning the women’s 10km title only the second time she had ever raced the event. A pool swimmer by background and the 2022 European 400m individual medley champion, the Hungarian surged from 11th to first over the closing laps to claim gold, and she returns to defend her title in the River Seine in both the 5km and the 10km events, as well as with compatriot Bettina Fabian in the mixed team relay. She will again face Italy’s Ginevra Taddeucci, the Paris 2024 Olympic 10km bronze medallist, who finished just behind Mihalyvari-Farkas in Croatia to take silver. Taddeucci turned the tables in the 5km a few days earlier, holding off the Hungarian to win gold by less than two seconds, and the pair look poised to renew their rivalry across both distances in Paris. Taddeucci is entered in all four open water events on the programme – the same as the Hungarian plus the 3km knockout sprint event. Italy bring further firepower through the likes of Barbara Pozzobon and Giulia Berton, as their six-strong women’s team will take to the water with high hopes. Spain’s Clara Martinez de Salinas Pena, Angela Martinez Guillén and Candela Sanchez Lora give Spain a strong hand across the individual distances and relay as they all form a strong contingent from the country who look to be taking their chances at a medal very seriously. Hungary’s Bettina Fabian, who won the inaugural women’s 3km knockout sprint title in Croatia ahead of Spain’s Paula Otero Fernandez, returns to defend that title in Paris. Otero Fernandez, the silver medallist, is again entered in the event and will be one of Fabian’s closest challengers over the fast, segmented format. France’s Caroline Jouisse and Ines Delacroix headline the home team, both entered across the full programme, while Monaco’s Lisa Pou, a two-time European 10km finalist and 10km bronze medallist at last year’s World Championships returns to compete over all three individual events once more. One of the more unknown quantities will be Neutral Athletes B, with many of the athletes making their senior European Championships debuts. Polina Koziakina stands as one of the team’s brightest prospects heading into the competition. Having medaled at both the 2025 and 2026 Junior Championships, she looks well-positioned to make a real impact this time. Ekaterina Sorokina rounds out the women’s contenders as another strong candidate. A familiar name on the circuit for several seasons now, she has consistently shown a knack for putting herself in contention when it counts most. Also competitive will be the German team. Julia Ackermann, who less than two week ago took the European junior title in the 3km knockout sprint, will make the step up to senior level in both the 5km and mixed team relay events. Isabel Gose, who was crowned world champion last year in that relay event, will return to try and take the European crown alongside Ackermann, as well as going in the 3km knockout sprint. Turkey’s Su Inal, Tuna Erdogan and Gocke Ozturk also have the potential to make inroads. With all athletes still in their teenage years, they will likely look to use this competition as an opportunity to swim without fear and to upset the more established names. Hungary will defend the mixed relay title they won in Stari Grad, where Mihalyvari-Farkas and Fabian combined with David Betlehem and Kristof Rasovszky to edge out Italy and France for gold by just two seconds. Taddeucci, who swam for Italy’s silver-medal quartet, returns to lead the Italian challenge, while France’s Clemence Coccordano and Delacroix will again likely anchor a home team that finished agonisingly close to gold last year. Elsewhere, Great Britain’s Amelie Blocksidge and the Netherlands’ Hedwig Bolt are among the younger names entered over 10km, while Poland’s Klaudia Tarasiewicz, a European Aquatics Open Water Swimming Cup winner in 2025, is entered across the 3km knockout, 5km and 10km in search of a first Championship medal. Open water swimming at the European Aquatics Championships Paris 2026 will take place in the River Seine from August 4 to 8, with the women’s 10km on day one, the 5km on day two, the 3km knockout sprint on day four and the mixed 4x1500m relay closing the programme on day five, with day three held as a contingency. Click here for the event page, which includes all start lists and results. Click here to watch all of the action on Eurovision Sport. Stephen Stanley for European Aquatics
Paris 2026: Five European Aquatics Championships storylines to watch for in open water swimming
Hungary for success With Hungary’s junior open water swimmers fresh off the back of a series of dominant performances at a home European Aquatics Junior Open Water Swimming Championships last week, their senior counterparts have just as good a chance to do exactly the same in Paris. Kristof Rasovszky took three European titles at last year’s European Aquatics Open Water Swimming Championships in Stari Grad, off the back of an Olympic title the previous year, and will be looking to hit back at Wellbrock after a series of tricky results in Singapore. Also looking for success will be David Betlehem. The 22-year-old recently took the World Aquatics Open Water Swimming World Cup crown and comes into the competition in fine form, having medalled in virtually every competition over the past couple of years. He will be one to watch out for when the athletes dive into the River Seine. The country’s women also have lots to be hopeful about. Bettina Fabian was a two-time European champion herself last year, as well as picking up a brace of bronze medals on the world stage. That will certainly give her confidence to do the same again in the French capital, alongside her compatriot Viktoria Mihalyvari Farkas, who also took two continental titles in 2025. Wellbrock looking for first European title Germany’s Florian Wellbrock arrives in Paris having never taken a gold medal in open water swimming at a continental level. He will fancy himself to break that impasse across any of the four events he is scheduled to take part in. He arrives at the competition in top form, following a clean-sweep of titles at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore last year. That, coupled with his recent success on the World Cup circuit makes him one of the hot favourites for the gold medal across any of the distances, including the 6km mixed relay event which will include Isabel Gose, Julia Ackermann and Oliver Klemet, all of whom will be in with a shout of success in their own individual events. France bring strong squad for home championships The home contingent will have dreams of their own they want to fulfill when the competition gets underway, and they have the means to write history of their own. With four female and three male athletes, they have one of the largest squads, and each of them bring their own qualities. Caroline Jouisse has medalled in each of the two previous editions of the European Aquatics Championships, and she comes into the competition in a relatively decent run of form including a medal at a recent stop of the World Cup, and the French team also took a bronze medal in the mixed relay at the European Championships in 2025. which included Clemence Coccordano and Ines Delacroix, both of whom will be competing in Paris. Marc-Antoine Olivier has also taken to the podium in almost all of the competitions he has done in recent years, and he will be one of the strongest hopes for the French team this time around. He will compete in all four events alongside Logan Fontaine, with both of them in with a chance of a medal in any event. Taddeucci and Paltrinieri spearhead Italian hopes Italy also bring their own firepower to the competition, with the two main protaganists from their perspective being Ginevra Taddeucci and Gregorio Paltrinieri. Taddeucci took three medals at the European Championships last year, including a 5km title, as well as four medals at the World Championships. Paltrinieri did pretty much the same, and has taken dozens of open water swimming major medals throughout his career. The pairing, combined with the likes of Andrea Filadelli, Marcello Guidi, Barbara Pozzobon and Giulia Berton will not be ones to be discounted come race day. Neutral Athletes B look to upset the order One of the more unknown factors are the Neutral Athletes B team, who bring a number of new athletes to the scene. Aleksandr Stepanov took a trio of medals in the pool at the World University Games last year and has recently made the transition to the open water. With a solid World Cup showing under his belt, he is definitely one to watch. Polina Koziakina will be one of the team’s main hopes for the competition. She has taken medals at the two junior editions of the championships in 2025 and 2026 and has the potential to make inroads this time around. Ekaterina Sorokina is also a lead contender for the women. She has been a relative mainstay on the circuit for a number of years, and is always able to get herself in important positions when the time is right. Click here for the event page, which includes all start lists and results. Click here to watch all of the action on Eurovision Sport. Stephen Stanley for European Aquatics
Paris 2026: Olympic Aquatic Centre set for “another historic moment” with start of European Aquatics Championships
Two years after the Olympic Aquatic Centre hosted Paris 2024 competition the vice-president of the French Swimming Federation, Lazreg Benelhadj, is anticipating another “historic moment” when the European Aquatics Championships start at the same venue tomorrow. Speaking at a press conference within the Centre attended by world and Olympic medallists and leading officials including the European Aquatics secretary general Noam Zwi, Benelhadj announced: “We have worked towards these Championships since the Olympics were completed in 2024. “Today we are one day away from another historic moment. All is ready and this beautiful centre is ready too. “We welcomed the world for the Paris 2024 Games. Now we are ready to welcome Europe. “We are proud to share this moment with you. “Tomorrow we will write history together.” Zwi thanked the organising committee, volunteers and sponsors for their “huge work” in preparing for the impending Championships. “Just two years ago this magnificent centre hosted the Olympc Games. Now we are about to compete in the same place. The Olympic legacy means creating opportunities and inspiring the next generation. “At these Championships we will be able to feature five events at the same time – swimming, diving, open water swimming, artistic swimming and high diving. This will be a real showcase of all our talents. “This year we are especially proud to reach an important milestone because for the first time in these Championships we will be including para-swimming. We believe our sport is strongest when it is inclusive and open to all. “Alongside the Championships we will be hosting the Swim Safe Conference, bringing together experts and educators in a mission to enable more children to develop life-saving water skills. “We will also start the celebration of our Centenary next year starting with the launch at a Gala dinner in the Champs Elysees on August 8.” Italian diver Chiara Pellacani, who will defend her 1m springboard title here, reflected on the positive experience she had had in this Centre while competing at the Paris 2024 Games. “Coming here after two years feels amazing because I had some of the best memories here in this pool,” said the athlete voted as European Aquatics female diver of 2025 after winning two individual world bronze medals and earning world gold in the 3m synchro with Matteo Santoro. “I had such a great time during the Olympics, so I have positive feelings about being here. “I love the pool, the boards are amazing so I am very excited to be here to compete. “Our goal is definitely to get the 3m synchro title back! We had an amazing season last year so we are excited. And I’m looking forward to all my other events. “I will have my parents and a few friends here to watch me. I remember at the Olympics it was very important for me to have them here with me and they will be back to watch me dive. I enjoy it so much when I can share all this with them.” Pellacani’s team mate Lucrezia Ruggiero, who has won three European gold medals in artistic swimming, told European Aquatics: “I love Paris. My first time here was for the Olympics so for sure the city has a magical place in my heart. “I’m happy to be here again because for me the Paris Olympics was half a beautiful experience and half not because my partner got sick before the competition so I didn’t compete in the duet. “So it’s like a double emotion. But I’m very happy to be here and I love this swimming pool.” France’s Marc-Antoine Olivier, who earned open water swimming bronze in the Seine at the Paris 2024 Games, said: “I’m very excited to be back swimming in the Seine and representing my country. “I finished third here at the Olympics and now I want my revenge – now I have a second chance for a gold medal here. “I have had to reorganise my training because I have a baby now. But I will be arriving here to compete in good shape.” Great Britain’s 20-year-old artistic swimmer Ranjuo Tomblin, seeking a third consecutive European solo gold here, added: “The facilities are absolutely amazing. This pool holds so many memories from the Olympic Games, so it’s very special to be able to come back here to compete. “I’ll be doing four different routines this week, and I’ll obviously be hoping to do my best in all of them. “I’ve had such an amazing season so far in the World Cup, and I want to keep going on with that momentum.” Quentin Gesell, Vice President sports delegate for the Métropole du Grand Paris, commented: “The Aquatic Centre was a legacy from the Games and now it is being used for other fantastic events. “We have worked to get the Centre ready again for high-level competition, transforming the site in order to allow for 5,000 spectators. The arena will become a cauldron of light from tomorrow onwards.” Alex Jandard, Diving Ambassador for Paris 2026 and entered for the 3m springboard and 3m synchro here, commented: “This is a great opportunity to show what France can do with sports. We were aiming for a super competition here after the Olympics and this is the case now, so we are very proud.” Click here for the event page, which includes all start lists and results. Click here to watch all of the action on Eurovision Sport. Mike Rowbottom for European Aquatics
European Aquatics statement following meeting with Athletes’ Committee representative
As part of its ongoing dialogue with the athlete community ahead of the 2026 European Aquatics Championships in Paris, European Aquatics President António Silva and Sports Director Apostolos Tsagkarakis met with Athletes’ Committee member and Olympic champion Kristóf Rasovszky during the European Junior Open Water Swimming Championships in Sukoró. The meeting followed recent discussions with athletes, team leaders, the Paris 2026 Local Organising Committee and the relevant European Aquatics technical and medical committees regarding water quality in the River Seine and the health and safety measures planned for the Open Water Swimming and High Diving competitions. European Aquatics welcomed the feedback and proposals presented by the athletes’ representative. Following a constructive exchange, the parties agreed on the following actions: European Aquatics values the continued dialogue with its athletes and their representatives and remains committed to working collaboratively with all stakeholders to ensure that decisions are guided by the best available scientific evidence, established protocols and, above all, the wellbeing of the athletes. The health, safety and wellbeing of athletes remain European Aquatics’ highest priority.ety and wellbeing of athletes remain European Aquatics’ highest priority.
Return to Paris: Olympic open water silver medallist Klemet targets podium at EA Championships
Germany’s Oliver Klemet earned his first senior international medal in 2023 when he finished third in the men’s 10km open water event at the Fukuoka World Championships. A year later, at the age of 22, Klemet took another significant step as he won silver at the Paris 2024 Games behind Kristof Rasovszky of Hungary. Klemet has also enjoyed success in the team open water event, being a part of Germany’s triumphant quartet at the Budapest 2022 World Championships and at last year’s World Championships in Singapore. Looking back now on your Paris 2024 experiences, which do you most clearly recall? The award ceremony where I received my silver medal. What do you remember of the Olympic atmosphere and the city? Did it feel different to other competitions? The whole competition felt much bigger and more significant than a World Championship – it had more weight, attracted more attention and came with more pressure. But it was really nice that all the Germans were staying together in one place and that so many different sports were represented there. Did you have any bad moments in Paris 2024? No! How different as an athlete and a person do you think you are heading into Paris 2026 compared to Paris 2024? I will be facing significantly less pressure and I will be much more experienced in major competitions. What are your personal ambitions for Paris 2026? I want to make it back onto the podium. How significant will the Paris 2026 Championships be for you in terms of a marker on the route to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics? I think the European Aquatics Championships in Paris are a good stepping stone toward the 2028 Olympics. They’re also a step toward the 2027 World Championships in Budapest and, most importantly, toward qualifying for future competitions given the level of national competition. Open water swimming will take place at the European Aquatics Championships Paris 2026 from August 4 to 8. Mike Rowbottom for European Aquatics